ST. LOUIS -- Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre came to the plate in the ninth inning with one out and his Rangers trailing by one. He had already gathered two hits and scored one of the two Rangers' runs to that point. Even against rock-solid-of-late Cardinals closer Jason Motte, the Rangers were certainly not buried with Nelson Cruz and Mike Napoli set to follow Beltre in the order.

And then Beltre grounded out to third. And he and manager Ron Washington argued. The reason? Beltre believed he fouled the ball off his foot. Replays showed it was entirely possible. Beltre could clearly be seen saying "it hit my shoe."

Via MLB.com, here is the play -- including the thermal imaging video:

Now here is a good slow-motion of the shot, including again the imaging:

First of all, Beltre fell to the ground immediately. It's not like he saw it was a rather weak grounder and decided to play possum. He was down before that entire thought process could have taken place. Secondly, Fox evidently has some thermal imaging in their broadcast and used it to show that that ball did graze his foot.

"(Beltre) said he did (foul it off his foot), and he has those Velcro-type shoes," Washington said after the game. "So (Beltre) asked (home plate umpire Jerry Layne) to check the ball; couldn't find anything on it. (Layne) said none of the umpires recognized it, so that's what it was about."

So did the umpires botch this? If you believe so, understand how utterly difficult it would be to see this in normal speed, with no help from slow-motion. And slow-mo doesn't even give anything definitive here. It looks like it may have hit Beltre's shoe. Thermal imaging? Maybe MLB needs to institute instant replay with thermal imaging. Then, instead of being behind the technological curve, MLB would be ahead of it.

Both the Cardinals and Rangers advanced to the World Series with a huge hand from their bullpens, so both bullpens are expected to be used often during the series.

St. Louis manager Tony La Russa likes to use match ups to his favor, relying on stats to decide when to use a reliever and which one to use. Octavio Dotel's mastery of Ryan Braun was part of the Cardinals' NLCS victory -- Dotel had struck out Braun six times in eight at-bats coming into the series and the two faced each other three times in the NLCS, with Braun striking out all three times. While the Brewers and Cardinals faced each other 18 times during the regular season, the Cardinals and Rangers have only played three times in the teams' histories, back in 2004.

While some free agents have moved, there are still many pitchers and hitters who haven't seen each other, giving this a true old-school World Series feel.

Here's a look at both team's primary relievers against the most important batters:

The St. Louis Cardinals franchise began all the way back in 1882 (as the St. Louis Brown Stockings). After having just won the 2011 NL pennant, the Cardinals now have 18 NL titles and 10 World Series championships -- looking to add No. 11 in the next week and a half or so. The history of the franchise is loaded with Hall of Famers and transcendent personalities, and the city is often said to be one of the best baseball towns in the country. Manager Tony La Russa has been playing bullpen matchups since before Al Gore invented the Internet.

The Rangers' franchise, on the other hand, has only been around since 1961 (as the Washington Senators -- they moved to Texas and became the Rangers in 1972). Prior to 1996, the Rangers/Senators had never been to the playoffs. Prior to last season, they'd only won one playoff game in franchise history. The only individual Hall of Fame plaque with a Texas Rangers cap is Nolan Ryan's. Sitting right in the middle of die-hard football country, Arlington hasn't exactly been romanticized as a baseball hot spot. Manager Ron Washington took his first managing job in 2007.

Of course, history has absolutely nothing to do with this series. The players are the ones who will win this series, not the uniforms or any flags in the respective stadiums honoring the past.

The Rangers are now making their second consecutive trip to the World Series and there's no doubt they're a current baseball powerhouse. Anyone who watched Game 6 of the ALCS can attest that the fans are as great as anywhere, too, because Rangers Ballpark was rocking.

These two teams have lots of similarities, too.

Both lost an ace before the season even began. The Rangers lost Cliff Lee to free agency while the Cardinals lost Adam Wainwright to a torn UCL in his throwing elbow -- requiring season-ending Tommy John surgery. Both offenses feature several power hitters while the bullpens got stronger down the stretch on the strength of midseason acquisitions and some roster/role tinkering. And both teams have been scorching hot for the past six or so weeks.

Sure, the Cardinals late surge got lots of attention and rightfully so. It's because they were running down the Braves from a double-digit deficit in the NL wild-card race. But check this out:

Rangers' September record: 19-6Cardinals' September record: 18-8

Rangers' October record: 7-3Cardinals' October record: 7-4

So if you're going to argue for the hotter team winning the series, you're picking the Rangers -- not the Cardinals. Since a Sept. 10 loss to the A's, the Rangers are 21-5. To put that in perspective, that's a 162-game pace of 131 wins. To reiterate, the Cardinals are playing exceptional baseball right now and deserve all the credit they've gotten for the huge comeback in the regular season and run in the playoffs, but let's not be fooled into thinking they come in hotter than their Texas-sized opponent.

Big offensive advantage to Napoli here, but Molina can hit, too. Big defensive advantage to Molina here, but we've seen what Napoli can do behind the plate this postseason. This is a tough call for many reasons. We're weighing Napoli's power stroke (30 HR in 369 at-bats this season) against Molina's ability to completely eliminate the opposing running game. Ultimately, it's a toss up between two really good players.

Young is a very good hitter. A great one at times, including most of the 2011 season. He just became the first player in LCS history to record two extra-base hits in one inning. He's gotten some noise in the AL MVP argument. It's just that he's not Albert Pujols in any aspect of the game.

Theriot's a scrappy singles hitter who makes lots of baserunning mistakes. He's not a defensive liability at second like he was at short, but he's still not much more than just an average player. Even if Skip Schumaker can return at full health, the upgrade is pretty minor. Kinsler had 32 homers and 30 stolen bases in the regular season and is far superior with the glove.

Andrus is a solid defender and base stealer, but not a very good hitter. Furcal has provided St. Louis a bit of a power-speed combo atop the order since his acquisition. It's a really close call here, but Furcal seems to be providing his team more of a spark at this point in time. Things could easily change by the second inning of Game 1, but we're going Furcal by a nose for now.

A healthy Freese has been a monumental boost for the Cardinals' offense, especially as Matt Holliday has dealt with some injuries. Freese was a really good hitter in the regular season and absolutely exploded in the NLCS. Beltre can match and exceed his firepower, though. Beltre had 32 regular-season homers and then went yard three times in the clinching ALDS Game 4 at Tampa Bay. He's also a great defender. Before the NLCS, Freese was underrated, but let's not overcorrect based upon six games. He closed the gap, but is still slightly behind Beltre overall.

Jay isn't a bad player by any stretch, but he's out of his league here. When Hamilton can keep himself on the field, he's one of the most feared sluggers in the league, and will also sell out his body to make a big defensive play (see Game 6, for example).

We cannot discount the season that Berkman, the NL Comeback Player of the Year, put together. He was great, and especially valuable early in the season when Holliday was hurt and Pujols was struggling. But Cruz still almost matched his power production despite playing 21 fewer games in the regular season. In the playoffs, Cruz has been the best hitter in baseball, not to mention that he's a much better defender than Berkman. This one would be a toss up, but Cruz's hot hand pushes him over the top. Put it this way, Cardinals fans: What if you could trade Berkman for Cruz straight up for the series? You'd do it. Don't lie.

Designated hitter

The designated hitter for the Rangers is a mix and match thing. Young or Napoli can be used there, which would get Mitch Moreland or Yorvit Torrealba into the lineup. It's also possible Washington goes with Endy Chavez or Craig Gentry in the outfield and uses Murphy at DH. So, essentially, we're judging the bench here. For the Cardinals, the smart money is on Berkman being used as the DH, which then puts Allen Craig in the outfield. So what we're really judging here is which offense benefits more from being able to use a DH and, oddly enough, the NL team here does. Craig is a much better offensive player than Moreland, Torrealba, Chavez or Gentry. So the three games in Texas will actually favor the Cardinals in this one aspect of the game, however small it is.

Both rotations have good ability yet have been shaky at times. Holland and Garcia particularly struggled in their respective LCS'. Wilson and Carpenter both pitched like aces at several points throughout the regular season, but the deciding factor here is that Carpenter has shown he can carry his team in a big game. Wilson, meanwhile, is 1-4 with a 5.40 ERA and 1.40 WHIP in seven career postseason starts.

The fact that both teams won four of six games against their respective LCS opponents with zero quality starts tells you all you need to know about how good the bullpens are right now. The Cardinals' bullpen has significantly improved down the stretch, as Motte has stepped in as the closer -- despite not being "officially" named as such. Marc Rzepczynski has been a solid left-handed addition just as right-hander Octavio Dotel has gotten some really big outs. Especially after the NLCS, you have to say the Cardinals have a very strong bullpen right now. The way things have gone for Texas of late, though, it's even better. Scott Feldman and Alexi Ogando have proven to be an exceptional duo to bridge the gap from the starters to the potentially dominant Mike Adams and Neftali Feliz at the back-end.

Defense

Getting Furcal helped the Cardinals, as will being able to use Craig in right instead of Berkman when the games are played in Texas, but this isn't really a match. The two teams had virtually identical fielding percentages during the regular season, but that doesn't measure range. The advanced metrics that do measure range pretty heavily side with the Rangers here. If you just go by position, only at catcher and first base are the Cardinals clearly better. Everywhere else it's either debatable or definitely the Rangers.

PREDICTION

First of all, keep in mind all categories above aren't created equal. Having a slight edge at shortstop, for example, isn't near as important as having an edge in the bullpen. The position-by-position breakdown is just a snapshot at the different strengths and weaknesses of each team. Adding everything together, including the momentum and swagger heading into the World Series, the Rangers have a better offense, defense and bullpen. And while the Cardinals have been having all their happy flights, the Rangers haven't lost consecutive games since August 23-25. The Cardinals' run has been a great story and nothing would surprise us here, but we'll go with the St. Louis run ending when it runs into a more talented buzzsaw. Rangers in six.

Only Bobby Abreau (2,247) and Miguel Tejada (2,118) have played more regular-season games than the Rangers' Adrian Beltre (1,959) without having appeared in a World Series. With the Rangers' Game 6 victory on Saturday, Beltre will have his name taken off that list. Adam Dunn (1,570) and Vernon Wells (1,524) have played the most regular-season games without a postseason appearance.

Our buddy David Fung takes a look at the World Series and postseason droughts from baseball's most experienced players:

The Texas Rangers have taken down the Detroit Tigers in the ALCS, four games to two. They have now advanced to the World Series for the second straight season after having never gone before. Let's take a look at the series that was, in pictures.

Up next for the Rangers: Either the Cardinals or Brewers in the World Series. Due to the American League's All-Star Game loss, the Rangers won't have home-field advantage, despite having a better regular-season record than St. Louis and being tied with Milwaukee. Of course, Rangers' ace C.J. Wilson was the losing pitcher in that All-Star Game by virtue of allowing a three-run home run to Milwaukee's Prince Fielder.

DETROIT -- The Tigers stunned the Rangers with an offensive explosion in the bottom of the sixth to force the series back to Texas, winning 7-5. The Rangers still lead the series, 3-2.

Hero: Justin Verlander didn't have a very Verlander-ish start, but he came up nails in a must-win game for Detroit. The righty gutted through 133 pitches over 7 1/3 innings, allowing eight hits and three walks. His final line was marred by a two-run homer in the eighth. He pitched out of trouble constantly, though, adding eight strikeouts to his ledger and getting the Tigers to the ninth inning. While Detroit was unable to go with Joaquin Benoit or Jose Valverde in relief, the Tigers were cushioned by a five-run lead once Ryan Raburn chipped in a solo homer in the seventh. (Oh, I suppose Delmon Young bashing two homers was pretty heroic, too.)

Goat: The Rangers could be celebrating right now, and they might have been if Ian Kinsler wasn't so hack-happy. Verlander looked like he was on the verge of collapse in the top of the sixth, loading the bases by allowing a single, double and four-pitch walk to Mitch Moreland. There's no question Verlander was on the ropes, but Kinsler allowed him to get away scot-free by busting the first pitch down to third for a weak grounder that turned into a double-play.

Kinsler said the answer as to why he swung at the first pitch was simple. "I got a pitch I wanted to swing at," he said. "I'm looking for a fastball. I'm looking for a good pitch." And he hit it for a double-play.Turning point: In the bottom of the sixth inning, Ryan Raburn opened the inning by rifling a single. Miguel Cabrera followed with what should have been a routine groundout down the line, but Adrian Beltre was playing behind the bag and watched the ball sail over his head after clipping off the base. Raburn came around to score the go-ahead run and things completely imploded from there.It was over when... Delmon Young stepped to the plate with Detroit having taken a 4-2 lead. Young immediately drove a stake into the hearts of the Rangers by blasting his second homer of the game, a two-run shot that put Detroit ahead 6-2.

Next: After four straight days of games, both teams will get a breather with an off-day on Friday. Game 6 will be played at 8:05 p.m. ET on Saturday, with Max Scherzer going for Detroit. The Rangers will counter with lefty Derek Holland, who was bombed in Game 2.

DETROIT -- Adrian Beltre and Victor Martinez, dueling against each other in the ALCS, were teammates on the Red Sox last season and helped foster a healthy clubhouse with their leadership, which the Rangers and Tigers, respectively, have raved about. On Tuesday night, each displayed just what might have been missing on the Red Sox this season.

Beltre came to the plate with one out in the fourth inning and took a massive hack against Doug Fister, fouling a ball off his left knee. He collapsed to the ground, and just like Nelson Cruz's hit-by-pitch off the wrist in Game 2, sent fear in the heart of Ranger Nation. Given Beltre's reaction, it would have been completely understandable for him to bail out of the game. But the third-baseman was having none of it, holding off the trainer and continuing the at-bat, despite clearly being hampered by the injury. He grounded out, hobbling to first base all the while. (X-rays following the game were negative.) Certainly, in the regular season with nothing on the line, Beltre likely would have been taken out -- but this is October, after all, and Beltre's never been a player that lets injuries stand in his way. This is a man who once fractured his testicle, for crying out loud ... and kept playing.

So no, Beltre wasn't coming out.

Then, in the bottom fourth, it was his ex-teammate's turn to show some fortitude. Martinez stepped to the plate with the Tigers down 1-0 and the crowd increasingly demoralized... and rocketed a home run to left field. Bedlam from the crowd, but Martinez instantly grimaced and stumbled toward the ground before gingerly running around the bases. This was a huge homer for Detroit, and all that happened was a casual fist-bump by Don Kelly in the on-deck circle, and then a somber reception in the dugout without the usual high-fives. Martinez immediately slammed his helmet before disappearing into the clubhouse tunnel, and it looked as if V-Mart may have fallen victim to an intercostal muscle strain.

Fast-forward to the bottom of the fifth. Miguel Cabrera at the plate with runners in scoring position, a situation the Tigers have struggled through all postseason. The TV cameras showed Martinez speaking to Leyland in the dugout, clearly not right. However, he headed to the on-deck circle with many theorizing that this was a fake-out to make the Rangers think V-Mart was going to hit and perhaps make an incorrect pitching coach before Martinez was pinch-hit for. That feeling was only furthered more when he didn't take any swings and watched Miggy blast a RBI double. And yet, Martinez stayed in the game. (CBSSports.com's Danny Knobler says Martinez is expected to play in Game 4 as well... surprise, surprise.) He didn't swing once in the at-bat, but worked a walk. You could tell that there was absolutely no way that Martinez was coming out of the game. This is a man who told reporters on Sept. 28 after injuring his big toe, "You're going to have to kill me to keep me out of the lineup." And after Game 3? "I will play tomorrow unless I am dead when I wake up."

So no, Martinez wasn't coming out.

On a night where the Red Sox's epic collapse may have claimed it's biggest victim yet in GM Theo Epstein, two players he allowed to leave in free agency showed on baseball's brightest stage the perseverance strangely lacking in Boston this season. And perhaps that's why the Red Sox are sitting at home with Red Sox Nation crumbling.